Standard home insurance covers the structure of your home in the event of disasters such as hurricanes and windstorms, along with a number of other disasters. It's important to understand the elements that may affect your insurance payment after a hurricane and adjust your policies accordingly. There is no type of insurance that is specifically called “hurricane insurance.” Home insurance policies typically cover damage caused by strong winds, including hurricanes. However, your policy may have a separate deductible for damage caused by the hurricane.
The hurricane insurance deductible is sometimes higher than your policy's standard deductible and could be a percentage of one or more of your coverage limits. However, not all standard home insurance policies cover windstorms, so check with your insurer to see if you have coverage and if a separate deductible applies. In general, home insurance will cover damage caused by wind and rain caused by wind. So, if strong winds tear off the shingles and water penetrates the roof, the damage is usually covered.
Before choosing a policy, read it carefully and look for limitations on wind and water damage. The National Flood Insurance Program won't cover you if you buy a policy and have a flood within 30 days. If you want to get windstorm insurance from a private insurer, the Florida Market Assistance Plan can probably help you or the CHOICES Program of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Flood insurance policies usually impose a 30-day waiting period between the time of purchase and the time coverage takes effect.
This is because more and more insurers are completely excluding damage caused by hurricanes, says Frank Darras, insurance lawyer from Ontario, California. If you live in an area designated by X or A, your home is at the highest risk of flooding, so you should take out a flood insurance policy. It's probably your most valuable investment, so you have a home insurance policy to protect it. Even homeowner policies that don't exclude hurricanes often exclude damage caused by floods caused by increased water.
You may need to have a separate home insurance deductible for losses caused by the hurricane, especially if you live in a high-risk area, such as along the Atlantic coast. Like any deductible, a hurricane or windstorm deductible will affect the final result of your insurance payment. An important thing to know about flood insurance is that you can't wait for a storm to approach to get flood insurance. Additional living expenses (ALE) cover the additional costs you incur if you need to live somewhere else because your home becomes uninhabitable as a result of a hurricane (or any other insured disaster).
Hurricanes can cause devastating damage, and a standard home insurance policy doesn't always cover all damage. Hurricane insurance is a combination of insurance policies that you can purchase to protect your home from hurricane damage, including flood, storm and home insurance. This information is not an insurance policy, does not refer to any specific insurance policy, and does not modify any provision, limitation or exclusion expressly set forth in any insurance policy. If your policy has a hurricane deductible, it will clearly indicate the specific “trigger” that would cause the deductible to take effect.
